


Time to Go

by AussieTransfan2015, TheBigLoserQueen



Series: Mythical AU [32]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Human, Blood, Blood and Injury, Fights, Friendship, Human, Interspecies, Interspecies Relationship(s), Minor Injuries, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other, Polyamory, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 14:06:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11738619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AussieTransfan2015/pseuds/AussieTransfan2015, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: Terablade runs to Requiem's house to give her some news. She didn't expect a kraken to be there.





	Time to Go

Terablade briskly walked through town, slipping through the crowded streets and in between snug bodies. She waved to anyone who said hello, feeling bad she couldn't stop to chat like she normally would. Being popular was usually a benefit for her, but not when she was in this big of a hurry. She had just come back from a good hunt, dropping down by the markets, when she overheard some of the guards. 

Two of Sentinel's loyal bastards, they had to have been. The guy was a total creep, as were his lazy, no-good men. Requiem, one of her good friends, had told her about how he had gotten in major trouble earlier this month, almost letting six kids from the school and her own sister get killed. She had mentioned that Oracle had been worried that he would take revenge once he was off probation, but Terablade didn't think he would have the spine.

Apparently, she had been wrong.

Those guards were whispering about what Sentinel planned to do. Nothing specific, but that he was definitely going to "get even" with her friend and her two sisters. He was going to completely ruin them and make them regret ever messing with him. And Sentinel didn't just make idle threats about things like that, as much as Terablade hated to admit it. She had seen the vendettas he had carried out against people before.

Requiem was always ready for anything, but she could probably use a warning right about now. She wasn't going to let her friend end up dead because Sentinel was a pissed off psycho.

She was so glad that her friend lived a little way out of the crowded inner city. Once she found the water channel, she followed it up to their house. It didn't seem like anyone was home, but it couldn't hurt to check. And it was later in the afternoon, so it would only be a matter of time before someone showed up. Requiem's sisters knew who she was, so they would let her in.

Terablade walked up to the door and knocked. "Requiem?"

When there wasn't an answer, she knocked again. Still nothing. She took a hold of the door knob, knocking again before jiggling it. Though she wasn't expecting the knob to actually turn. A bit caught off guard, she slowly pushed the door forward and peeked inside.

"Requiem?" she called out again, slowly entering the house. There wasn't anyone in the front hallway... But if the door wasn't locked, that surely meant someone was home. "Oracle? Aurora? Anyone home?"

When she was once again met with silence, her eyes narrowed. It wasn't like any of the sisters to leave their door unlocked, especially not with Sentinel and his friends on their backs. Subconsciously, she kept a hand on her knife as she closed the door behind her. Just in case she had gotten here when a thief decided they wanted to loot the house. She may have not have been a guard, but she could still stop and catch a petty thief.

But she couldn't let a potential thief think she knew. Not when she had already given herself away. "You left your door open," she said loudly, stepping towards the main room. "You know Sentinel's just waiting to bust in here, you shouldn't be doing that-"

Her voice caught in her throat when she stepped in front of the main room. Inside was... a kraken. He stared at her, stuck in between this main living room and whatever other room he had seemed to be moving towards. Her hand had dropped from her dagger, staring wide-eyed at this... creature who was in her friend's house. A monster. In her friend's house, which was in the city... And while she knew not all monsters were to be feared, there had been an increase in attacks as of late. 

And this thing was a kraken. She wouldn't have been able to fight this thing herself, especially not in a cramp space like Requiem's house. So she did the only thing she could do. She bolted for the door. 

Before she could grasp the handle, a mass snapped around her ankle and a swift tug sent her to the ground with a startled cry. Terablade gasped as the limb pulled her back into the living room. Gripping the hilt of her dagger tight, she thrust down on the limb. A muffled cry from the room signaled the monster's pain, his limb loosening.

Wrenching her leg free, she tried for the door again. Her hand just scrapped the handle as another mass grabbed her waist. Dagger at the ready, she tried to thrust it through again, but missed the second limb snatching her arm. Jerked back, she was hoisted into the small living room, watching as the kraken loomed over.

Napalm had never seen this human before, even from his vantage point in the upstairs bedroom. She had called out his mates' names, did she know them? And if she did, why was she breaking into their home?

Then seeing her flee, all he could think of was his mates' getting hurt for his presence being made public. Oracle had been worried all month since the vile man was reprimanded for his negligence and, despite the help her new teachers provided, she worried for the children’s safety. Aurora had been spending longer and longer nights in the courts, monitoring everything Sentinel did and worrying herself into sleep. Requiem had been the most violent, training harder and coming back with more injuries, breaking the Kraken's heart.

If this woman was their friend, they would have mentioned her to him, or at least say she was coming over and have a better chance to hide. But they never mentioned her, they didn't say anyone would be coming around, and he recalled Aurora locking the front door. He had heard scuffles at the door; had this woman broken the lock earlier?

With this revelation, he pulled the woman back into the room, sliding his tendril around both her legs. But he refused to be cruel, using another tentacle, he managed to flip her right side up. Only now did he get a good look at her. She was taller than most women he had seen, even more than his Requiem. To him it just didn't seem to fit; like a puzzle or riddle he couldn't solve. She was strong too, the way she struggled and wriggled, but he couldn't let her go, not when there was a chance she would reveal his presence here.

"Why are you here?"

He was surprised she had managed to free her arm, reacting too late as she swung the dagger across his cheek. The stinging pain only lasted a moment, shaking off the surprise and suppressing his hiss. Then Napalm targeted the dagger, wrapping it safely in his tentacle and slathering it in the mucus his limbs excreted.

Disgusted, Terablade pulled her hand free, but found she could no longer grip the dagger, grasping at air as it slipped and fell to the ground.

"Why. Are you. Here?" he said again, stressing he wasn't in the mood for more games. This woman invaded his mates' home, his home. Something he wouldn't stand for.

Terablade had a hundred different things run through her mind, all of which just had her glaring daggers at the creatures. What was she doing here? What the hell was he doing here?! He was the monster, not her! A monster that wasn't allowed in the city... And one that was in the house of her friend and her sisters! She knew a dagger wouldn't have been able to do much, but she thought she could have at least gotten out of here alive.

Though, with the way this creature's eyes were narrowed at her, the chances were looking slim. Damn it, why did it have to be a kraken? Out of all the monsters that could have broken into the house, it had to have been a kraken. Even with her weapons and training, there was no way she would have been able to take this thing down by herself. He was enormous.

But she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Whatever this creature's intentions were, she wasn't about to tell him anything. But with her dagger out of reach and her body restrained, there wasn't much she could do.

So she spat at his face, hitting him right below the eye. "Eat me and choke."

Napalm paused, his brow creasing in confusion as his hand reached his cheek. Wiping away the spit, he looked more confused.

"I didn't know humans spat ink," he mused, more to himself than addressing Terablade. He mused why it was clear, it wouldn't do them any good nor help as an escape tactic; their enemy would still be able to see where they flee. Unless it was more like venom, but that couldn't be true; he had kissed his mates many times and swapped oral fluids in passionate sessions without any ramifications.

Terablade just looked at him with a mix expression between annoyance and frustration. She should have guessed the kraken didn't know human etiquette, but could he at least act like he was offended? Just so when he finally did kill her, she did something to piss him off.

Disgusted, she jerked in his grip. There had to be some way to get him to let her go. She just needed to make it to the door again... Or hell, even find an open window and jump through it. The creature was huge and while he could fit in the house, he wouldn't have been able to move through the house that quickly, given his size. And there had to be people around outside somewhere, if she could make enough noise.

At this point, she was willing to give anything a shot. So, though it was a little undignified, she took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. 

Napalm slapped a tentacle over her mouth, jumping from the sudden loud noise. Now he was convinced that this woman wanted to hurt his mates. And if he had to use a harsher method to keep their secret from leaving this house, he resigned to it.

Reaching forward, he kept his tentacle fastened over her mouth, ensuring her nose wasn't covered. Wrapping his hands around her, locking fingers, he rendered her completely immobile. She struggled, kicking her legs and shaking her head about but found no give.

"I won't let you hurt my mates."

Now she was even more confused, though the fright was starting to kick in. Mates? As in... Primus, was he referring to Requiem and her sisters? Since when the hell did they go around sleeping with monsters?! She knew people did it (hell, her own lover was a monster), but... Oracle and Aurora definitely didn't seem like the type to go for a kraken, or any monster!

Though if what this thing was saying was true, it would explain why Requiem didn't let her or any of their other friends come over lately. Maybe they were hiding the kraken and didn't want him to be discovered... But it wasn't like she could demand any answers now. Her mouth covered, her arms trapped against her sides, and her weapons gone - all she could do was try and kick him in the face, which she couldn't even reach.

She was starting to panic. She didn't want to die. She still had to warn Requiem and her sisters. She wasn't going to let them get killed by Sentinel because of this thing.

Unable to do anything else, she bit down on the tentacle over her mouth. Hard.

Napalm could deal with cuts, but feeling teeth latch onto his tentacles was excruciating. Cutting was at least a quick pain, bites always radiated and grew as this woman's jaws bite harder.

A sharp gasp and he retracted his tentacle, coiling it to ease the persistent sting. Another bite had him removing his hands. His body moved on instinct, pressing in close to the far side of the room. Not a reaction he was proud of but given the current state of his people's decline, any means of protection were taken. It was only in that moment he realized who had bit him and what he had done. They were released, free to make more noise or worse, run out the front door.

Freed, and dagger back in hand, Terablade made a run for the door. With the added distance the Kraken had given her, she would be at the door and out of the house before he could reach her. Two long strides, hands wrapping around the door knob, she was almost there.

Swinging the door open, she stopped at seeing Oracle standing there, about ready to unlock the door with and armful of groceries.

Oracle's eyes grew wide, seeing Terablade in her home. Aurora had locked the door before leaving that morning and Terablade was a good friend of Requiem's; she wouldn't have just let herself in nor break in. Something was wrong, that much she knew, but as she opened her mouth to question the young hunter, she spotted Napalm peeking out from the living room. And once she saw red, her heart jumped.

"Napalm!"

She rushed in, door kicked closed and bags dropped to the floor. Terablade only watched as the smaller woman rushed to the hulking Kraken and baby over his cut, coming to notice the stab wound in one of his tentacles as well as two bite marks.

Oracle knew enough that Terablade wouldn't just attack anyone, nor have any reason for being here unless it was important. Still, she was skeptical as to how she got into their home and why she had injured Napalm. She turned to the other, "Terablade, what is going on here?"

Terablade let out a heavy groan, leaning back against the now closed door as her heartrate started slowing down. Though seeing Oracle eye her like she was some sort of criminal didn't exactly make her feel any better. She knew that they weren't close, but for Primus' sake, she didn't come in here to cause trouble. Hell, a few minutes ago, she thought she was going to be killed!

"Your front door was unlocked, so I thought I'd ransack the place." 

The look on Oracle's face was enough for her to see her attitude wasn't welcomed. But Terablade refused to be blamed for all of this.

"Look, the door was unlocked and I thought maybe there was someone breaking into your house. I take a look around and find him-!" she pointed to Napalm, who Oracle was still holding the tentacle of "-hiding in your house. I don't know who he is or what the hell a creature is doing in your house, so I try to make a run for it. Then he grabs me and I think he's going to kill me, so I try to defend myself and get out of here."

"I wasn't going to harm you," Napalm said, though his tone was neither annoyed or harsh. "Just prevent you from calling others here."

"Well, when someone holds me like a sandwich, I assume death.” She glared at the large Kraken, yet again the large creature showed no sign of annoyance or at least perturbed by her remark.

"That was not my intent," he added, looking down at Oracle as she started binding his wound.

"Napalm has been living here for a long while," Oracle admitted. "He knows what could happen if the guards found out about him. He was almost caught two months ago and... well…"

"No harm will come to my mates."

"Yeah, you told me that when you covered my mouth with your tentacle."

His expression still didn’t' change, but Terablade honestly wasn't expecting anything different. She just watched as he kept himself lowered and closer to Oracle. Bending so far down looked uncomfortable from where Terablade stood, but she just watched as the kraken placed a kiss on Oracle's head, nuzzling her hair. All right, so the mate thing was true... Or rather mates. Because apparently, he was with all three of them and they were okay with it.

It was a bit jarring, definitely, but she was in no position to judge. Besides, her monster friends had told her every monster had its own culture and different ways of life, mating habits included. Maybe it was incredibly common for krakens to have multiple partners, she didn't know... Nor did she honestly care at this point since she now knew that this kraken belonged here and hadn't tried to break in.

She threw her hands up, suddenly exhausted. "Whatever, look, Oracle-" the slightly older woman turned to her "-do you know when your sisters are gonna get back? I got something I need to talk to you all about."

With everything she had just come home to, now Oracle was concerned.

"They should be home soon; Requiem is finishing her time as acting Commander and Aurora was finalizing court records…" Oracle nodded, doing one last check of Napalm, planting a small kiss on his bite wounds. "Please Terablade, follow me. You can join us for dinner," she smiled, walking up to collect her groceries.

Terablade helped her pick up the bags, noticed there was a lot of fish as well as other meats and vegetables. She supposed that made sense though. Kraken probably ate a lot of fish.

She helped Oracle placed it down on the counter before taking a seat while Oracle started preparing supper. Hearing shifting, she turned to see Napalm squeeze through the smaller doorway into the kitchen. He was still too big for the room so four of his tentacles remained in the living room. The one was able to slip through mapped the room and, much to Terablade's amusement, helped prepare the evening meal.

He could reach items out of Oracle's reach, he would stir while she moved onto something else, and he would keep a watch on the bubbling broth while she cut vegetables. Despite the strangeness of the situation, Terablade could see Napalm definitely had strong feelings for Oracle and probably her sisters too. And maybe way too nice, if she was going off of the way he would dote on her.

"Would you like fish or beef, Terablade?" Oracle asked, turning away from her meat.

Before she could answer, the front door opened again and closed, two sets of footfalls approaching the kitchen. Stepping in first, Requiem stretched her arms and took a deep breath, smelling the cooking. Aurora followed through and Primus, she looked ready to fall asleep on her feet. Neither of them anticipated seeing Terablade at the table though, especially not with Napalm lying just to the side while helping Oracle cook.

"It's too late, Requiem," Oracle sighed, wiping her hands clean while Napalm helped Aurora to a chair. "Terablade was already here when I got home."

Requiem and Terablade exchanged glances, but the hunter just shrugged. It wasn't like she was going to tell anyone. She hated Sentinel just as much as these three did. Besides, this Napalm creature seemed decent enough, so there wasn't anything to tell anyway. And she wasn't going to blackmail her friend or anything. That would have been stupid.

Still, she looked both her and Aurora up and down. They looked terrible, almost as if they had been hit by wagons. Repeatedly. She knew Requiem was training a lot more nowadays and getting more injuries, but she had no idea Aurora was doing bad too. She looked ready to drop dead. 

"You both look like hell," she said, casting a sympathetic look to them. "I would have brought you some tea if I knew you both looked like this."

"Hard liquor would be preferred," Requiem scoffed, unclasping the small shoulder pads and dropping her sword. "Primus knows how this city hasn't been raided yet with our pitiful excuse for guards. A damn miracle!"

"And with Master Prowl heading an investigation into Sentinel's past actions and testimonies from almost two hundred citizens, I'm beginning to go cross-eyed," Aurora groaned, breaking a small smile when Napalm wrapped a tentacle around her. "But I assume you're here on a different matter than to just hear us speak of our day, Terablade."

"Well..." She leaned back against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. There really wasn't anyway to say this, but she knew she had to tell them. She didn't want to see them getting hurt. "You brought up Sentinel, so there's the place to start."

"Oh no," Oracle gasped. She had known Sentinel would attempt something, but she had hoped the King, and even more so the Queen, had made it clear to the Commander that any action suspected of him would be punished harsher than a simple probation. Requiem groaned, now really wishing she had hard liquor, while Aurora remained calm.

Napalm knew this news would be upsetting and that this horrid Sentinel would cause them harm. He reached to them all, coiling a limb around them and gently stroked an arm, or leg, or back, anything to bring them some kind of comfort.

"What's Sentinel up to now? No doubt one of his lackeys couldn't keep their mouths shut," Requiem growled, leaning into the offered limb rubbing against her back.

"Something like that." She glanced at all of them. They were definitely trying to remain calm about this, but she could see the tension in their body language. They were tired of this, and no doubt afraid for one another. "I was down by the market, collecting a couple bounties when I overheard some of his 'friends' talking... And he's got a hit on you guys. And a plan."

What that plan was, she had no idea. But knowing Sentinel, it was definitely something terrible enough to get them thrown in prison or at least kicked out of the city. And the sentencings, thanks to Sentinel, were getting harsher and harsher against people who Sentinel targeted. And with what these three had done to him to get the king on him, he probably wanted to the harshest sentence placed on them.

She had seen him pull strings before too. He would do it again, even if he was on watch.

"Look, he and his buddies probably want your heads mounted on walls," she said, gesturing to the three of them. "And your front door was unlocked when I came by. If you guys didn't leave it open, someone must have unlocked it. Take a guess on who that might be."

"You didn't make the shuffle sound?" Napalm asked, turning Terablade to him. Shaking her head, his tentacles coiled tighter around the women, showing his own concern. Had Terablade not come, something far worse than her seeing him would've happened.

"But what can we do?" Oracle asked. "Could we petition the King? Or perhaps the Queen?"

"Queen Charlotte hates Sentinel as much as many in the city, from witness accounts many have been scorned or abused by him, yet he remained in his position unchallenged," Aurora huffed, frustrated with the lack of regard the Commander had for the system as well as how dire their situation was.

"Sentinel has the backing or has blackmailed a lot of people in this city; if today is anything to go by, he's willing to make criminals just to get to us," Requiem growled. "And now Napalm is in danger."

"Don't worry about me," he cooed, looking to them all. "You need to be safe."

"And so do you," Oracle whimpered, everything catching up to her. "We love you, and if they were Sentinel's men who broke our locks, they would've found you."

"If not have just straight killed you," Terablade added, receiving a look from the Kraken, but nothing more.

"Then there's only one thing to do," Requiem huffed, standing from her seat. "We go somewhere Sentinel can't reach."

"And where might that be?" Aurora snipped, standing herself. "I know your men cover the eastern side of the city and are loyal to you, but all it would take is one order and the guard rosters will change, Sentinel could make up some story or pay off a citizen to claim a monster is in the area. There is nowhere safe for us."

"There is, outside of the city."

Oracle and Aurora gasped, looking to each other. Outside of the city? Where there was more danger to them than Sentinel.

"Come on, you seriously can't tell me we can keep living like this? Oracle, you're barely getting any sleep worrying about the kids, the school, Flowline and Trailfire and what Sentinel will do to all of it. Aurora, you look like the undead, you overwork yourself just trying to keep that bastard from doing anything else!"

"And you expect us to just leave? Drop everything and give him what he wants?" Aurora asked, approaching her sister. "This isn't like you; you never want to let that...that ruffian win. Now you're talking about running away?"

"It's your best bet."

Everyone turned to look at Terablade, who didn't bat an eye at the sudden attention. She knew she was just an outsider, but this needed to be said. They were in a lot more trouble than they probably thought. It wasn't about letting Sentinel win. It was about not being imprisoned or possibly executed, if the worst-case scenario happened.

"Look, whoever tried to get into your house? They were probably going to plant evidence about a monster being here, but if he-" she pointed to Napalm, still keeping her eyes on the three women "-is staying here, they won't have to plant anything. They'll find him, either they kill him or he escapes, and that will be plenty to arrest the three of you. Then you’ll rot in those prisons cells until you forget what the sun looks like."

"That's what I mean, all of this woe and stress isn't worth it," Requiem nodded, looking to her sisters. "We don't deserve that bastard's torment, so I say we go."

"But we can't just go," Aurora insisted. "We all have pivotal parts in the city, just getting up and leaving may cause more trouble than it's worth."

"Or it sends the right message to the King," Requiem countered, looking to Oracle and Napalm too. "The King sides with Sentinel because he doesn't know any better and Sentinel either blackmails or bribes his victims into not reporting him."

"And by leaving, saying it was Sentinel's actions that drove us to depart the city…" Oracle could see now, but she was still apprehensive. She loved the children, and after Eclipse was taken, she couldn't think of what might happen if she just up and left too.

"Then the King would have to open an investigation," Aurora sighed. She could see her sister's reasoning, but it still left the idea of moving to be more than a simple task. "But even if we did leave, where could we go? We have never left the city nor would we have any idea of where to live."

"... I've got a place you can stay at. Not too far from the water either."

They all turned to her, looking surprised. Since when would she have a place outside the city for not only the three of them to stay, but Napalm too?

"It's nothing special, probably not the most luxurious place either," she admitted, holding up her hands just in case they started demanding more of an explanation. "But it'll be a place for you guys to hold out and call home until Sentinel is finally taken care of. It's not that far out from the city either, so if you need to run into town, you can do it in a day. Probably your best bet."

"Terablade," Oracle couldn't believe what she had heard. It was such a generous offer, to come from one they barely knew. Requiem knew her well of course but to do that for all of them, Napalm included.

"Come on, Tera, you don't mean to just give us this place without something," Requiem smiled, still unsure about this. Granted, she had always believed nothing came for free, even from friends and family.

Aurora was speechless, held and comforted by Napalm. Even he couldn't believe the generosity of this human, where so many others had shown that compassion and generosity were not common traits.

"Look, it's a hideout, it's not like it's a house or anything." Well that was half-true. It was a hide-out, but it had turned into a makeshift house, curtesy of her lover when he had been raising Flowline. And once Flowline had moved in with her, it wasn't being used. Sometimes Terablade would use it if she needed a place to sleep while she and Stoneblock were spending time together.

Not to mention it was a little small, probably a bit cramped for three adult women. But if she wasn't using it and no one else was going to be using it, then the three of them should take advantage of it and get out of Sentinel's line of sight for the time being.

"But we can't just-"

Terablade rolled her eyes. "Look, all I gotta do it just talk the 'owner' and he'll let you get settled in as soon as you need to."

Requiem wasn't a touchy-feely woman, some Terablade knew best, so when her friend outright embraced her, it was a little out of character. But it wasn’t just Requiem; they all approached her, each with their own hopeful and grateful expressions.

"Terablade, thank you." It was all that needed to be said. Even Napalm, despite his size, moved to place a tentacle on her shoulder, smiling for the good she had done for his mates.

"I'd say, give us about three days," Requiem coughed, composing herself. "That way we can pack what we need and get Napalm back into the city's channel. We'll need you to show us the way."

"Not a problem," she said, giving a half-smile to Requiem's slight embarrassment. Wasn't every day a friend got a hug from her. "Though I suggest each of you leaving at different times. Sentinel and his little friends would notice if you all left at the same time."

"Very true," Aurora nodded, "Napalm could easily slip out in the night and meet us there. I could go the day after with the delegate to King Optimus' kingdom."

"My squad has rotations near the city gates, I could leave then once the rotation is over," Requiem added, liking how this plan was going. But when silence followed, they turned to Oracle. She rung her hands, head down and shifting with worry. "Sis?"

"I... I can't," she whispered, looking up to the others. "I can't just leave, not after what happened with Eclipse."

Requiem groaned and Aurora sighed.

"The children are my responsibility,” Oracle said, standing firm. “Flowline and Trailfire have only been there a month, I can't just up and leave them. What if something happens?"

"Hey." Terablade gently titled up Oracle's chin so she would look at her. "Listen, I know you're worried. Especially after what happened. But Trailfire and Flowline aren't that woman. They love kids and they'll take good care of them. And I know Flowline. She may not be as strong as Trailfire, but she'd still die for the kids and she's tough. She can handle anything you throw at her. They're in good hands."

Oracle still didn't look convinced, biting her lip. "I have full confidence in Flowline and Trailfire, it's the children I worry for. They were devastated when Eclipse was taken. If I were to leave, they might feel abandoned. I could never do that."

"Look... Oracle." She took her hand from her. "Either you go or you get thrown in prison. There's not really another option here. And if you get thrown in prison... You're the Head Mistress and they're already had one put in prison. If you get thrown in as well, that'll reflect badly on the school. Sentinel will no doubt try to paint the place as corrupted or worse. And if that happens, the place could lose funding, parents could pull out their kids... It could even close down."

The very idea of Sentinel closing down the school made her shiver. She couldn't let that happen. If leaving was the only way she could help her children, keep the school running and prevent Sentinel from doing more harm, she had to do it.

"O… Okay," she nodded. "I usually do some shopping before coming home tomorrow afternoon. I could buy up enough supplies for at least a few weeks then leave the city."

"Then it's settled," Requiem nodded. "Napalm, you'll leave tonight and Terablade will show you the way," he didn't like being the first to go, but he could see it allowing him to know the way and meet them part of the way there for protection. "Then Oracle goes tomorrow after the market, Aurora goes the next day with the delegates and I'll leave the day after once patrols are complete. Sound fair?"

"Whatever works for you guys. But I'm going to head out now, make sure everything is good with my guy first." She turned to leave, only to pause and turn back to Requiem. "You sure you want to do this? Because once you do... You know you can't just change your mind and come back. You'll have to wait until Sentinel's taken care of."

"Don't worry; this will keep my sisters safe, that's what matters," Requiem nods. "It's too bad I can't just beat that sorry jackass with a steel spike."

"Get in line," Terablade chuckled, moving back to the front door. She just hoped Stoneblock wouldn't mind, and at this point it would at least keep the house from falling apart.

Oracle moved to walk Terablade out, relocking the door before heading back to the kitchen. Both of her sisters were pondering their plan, she knew it. She was questioning it too, but her concern lay with her school and children.

"Can we really do this?" Aurora asked, looking to Requiem. "And will we ever be able to come back?"

"Once Sentinel is out of the picture, in whatever way, we'll be safe," Requiem said. "Though...would it be so bad as to stay outside the walls?"

Before they could protest or question her sanity, she held up her hand. She didn’t want them to argue, just to listen.

"Think about it. This house is way too small for all of us and Napalm. And we want a family right? We'll need somewhere big and far enough away that people won't freak out about Napalm."

Oracle and Aurora exchanged glances with each other. What she was saying made sense. It was getting harder to navigate their home and hide Napalm within it. Unfortunately, he was just too big.

"I say we stay at this house Terablade offered, and in the meantime, consider building out own."

"I can help," Napalm spoke up, turning their attention towards him. "I know good builders."

Aurora sighed, shaking her head. "We're really doing this.”

"Let's hope it turns out for the better," Requiem smiled, moving from behind the table to Oracle's cooking. Something to pause their racing minds; sharing a meal.

It might be their last meal in this house.


End file.
